An Unlikely Friend
by sirtosspot
Summary: Josh and Aiden meet and form a friendship of sorts. *us version of being human
1. Chapter 1

Aiden liked bars. They were crowded, he could be anonymous, and people normally approached him, he didn't have to go hunting. It made him feel a little better about what he was, they came to him, the stepped into his web, it was like they were tempting fate and the majority of the time they lost. He had standards of course, he didn't feed blindly. He tended to try and find loners, people who he believed no one would miss. Of course they were still missed, and he had to hide every time he passed a missing poster, after so many years he thought the guilt would get easier, but it never did.

The bar was emptier than usual, though it was a Thursday night. He didn't need to feed, sometimes he just wanted a beer and someone to talk to, although there didn't seem to be anyone willing to have a conversation. He glanced across the bar and a man sitting on the other side caught his eye. He had never seen him before, at least not around the area. He looked sad; nursing was appeared to be a vodka tonic. Another lonely soul, maybe the night wouldn't be a total wash.

"Hey, I'm Aiden." He sat down in the seat next to the man, signaling the bartender for another beer taking in the sight. The man turned and looked at him, seemingly startled that someone would talk to him.

"Oh I'm not-what I mean to say is-not that there isn't anything wrong with it—I'm Josh." Josh looked back at his drink, ashamed. He meets one person in this town and all he can think is that he is being hit on. Why did he have to be such an idiot all the time?

"Nice to meet you Josh. Did you think that I was going to hit on you?"

"What? No, I mean, it would be fine if you did I just, I'm not into that. But you know if you are that is fine, be who you are. Just. Ugh, why do I speak?" Aiden laughed.

"Its fine man, I just came over for a chat, you seemed lonely over here, thought you might like some company." Though he hadn't originally come over to hit on Josh he couldn't help but appreciate his face, and arms, and goodness this man was attractive. "So, are you new to town, I've never seen you around here before."

"I just moved here, last week. Needed to get a new life."

"Bad break-up? Not that it's any of my business."

"Lets just say I've been through a life changing experience, and after that happens, well I guess its hard to go back to who you were before." Josh hadn't taken his eyes off his drink. He didn't know why he was even talking to his guy, though knowing someone in town might be a good start to a new life. He had never had many friends, probably because he was so strange. At least that is what his sister seemed to believe.

"Believe it or not, I know what you mean." Aiden turned his beer around in his hands. "A while ago I went through a major life change, and my normal life, it just seemed so far away. I left everything I knew and started a new life." - _as a monster_

"Does it get easier?" Josh finally turned to look at Aiden. "I mean, does the part of you that feels empty and alone, does that go away?" He met Aiden's eyes for the first time, and suddenly saw something that surprised him, at least a little. They were so sad, and empty, and although there seemed to be a grin plastered on his face Josh could tell that Aiden was as empty inside as he felt.

"I won't lie to you, you want to believe it does, you want to believe that you won't miss what life was before, but you do. Every day, as you get further and further from your old life, your normal life you think about getting back there, and if someone gave you a chance to do it again, to make a different choice, to stay home, would you?"

"I know that I would." Josh said that with a hint of regret in his voice. "Although, it wasn't really something I chose, it kind of happened to me."

"Well then, I don't know what to tell you pal. Guess you'll just have to suck it up and deal." Aiden needed to lighten the mood, and with a chuckle he slapped Josh on the back. That's when he caught the scent, there was no mistaking it, this guy was definitely a werewolf. "Oh wow."

Josh looked at him confused. "What is it?"

"I just realized-never mind. Look, I've got to get going, but I'll see you around I'm sure." He placed a few bills on the bar. "See you tomorrow Steve." He waved to the bartender and headed out the door.

Josh watched him go. "What on earth?" He mumbled to himself, which was strange. It was nice though, having someone to talk to. Maybe things would get better, maybe he had made a new friend. Although, keeping his condition quiet was of upmost importance. He placed a few bills next to Aiden's, waved a hand at the bartender and walked outside.

"I know what you are." Aiden was leaning against the brick wall as if he had been expecting Josh to follow him outside. Josh turned around, startled and suddenly panicked.

"What are you talking about?" Maybe he was playing a joke, maybe he just thinks he is gay or something. There isn't any possible way he could know about his condition.

"You're a werewolf." Aiden stepped closer to Josh, he was sure that he seemed menacing, though that isn't what he was aiming for. Josh let out a nervous laugh.

"Werewolf, please. Those are just stories." Josh was backed into a wall now. This was it, this was how he was going to die, in an alley, killed by a stranger he just met. Perfect.

"I thought they were stories too, just nightmares to tell the kids so they wouldn't stray. Josh, don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you; I just wanted to tell you that I knew who you were." Aiden realized how freaked out Josh looked; maybe approaching him in a dark alley in the middle of the night wasn't the right approach.

"Why?" Josh was still plastered against the wall.

"Because I wanted you to know that you aren't alone out there. There are other people that have conditions like yours, or similar."

"What are you talking about?"

"Society has labeled us monsters. But we aren't all that bad."

"Are you—Are you like me?" Josh let himself believe, only slightly that there was someone else out there, someone who had the same condition, he wouldn't be alone anymore.

"Sort of - I'm not a werewolf." Aiden sighed, he had never actually revealed the he was a vampire to anyone before, and not ripped their throat out in the following seconds. "I'm a vampire."

Josh didn't know how to react. Before he became a werewolf he would have laughed in Aiden's face, but if werewolves existed, that probably meant vampires did too, right? "You are a vampire?" He wasn't really asking, more of stating it again, trying to process the information.

"That's how I could tell you were a werewolf. You have a very distinct smell." Aiden thought that Josh was handling the news pretty well. Normally he got a scream, or people begging for their lives, of course he wasn't trying to kill him so that probably helped the situation.

"Okay. This is an interesting turn of events." Josh sighed and slid down the wall. When did everything turn so strange? First werewolves, now vampires, what's next? Was Santa going to fly in on his sleigh and tell him that dragons were real?

Aiden tried to offer Josh a small smile, but it didn't seem to help. He of course had had years to cope with the fact that all those monsters he'd heard about as a child, all the horrors in the world were real. He could still remember how it felt though, learning the truth. He slid down the wall so he was sitting next to Josh.

"When did it happen? The uh - attack?"

"Well…" Josh didn't seem to want to talk. He was staring at the wall in front of him.

"Fuck that was nosey. Sorry. Ignore me. I'll leave you to your thoughts." Aiden moved to get up but he felt a hand on his arm.

"I was camping with my fiancé and this other couple. We sitting around a campfire trading stories and we heard someone screaming in the woods. It was terrible. So the girls went to go find help and me and the other guy went to figure out what was happening. Then out of nowhere this creature attacks us. My friend, Peter, was ripped to shreds, and I survived with a few gashes in my arm. For a while I thought I had been lucky. That surviving the attack was the best thing to ever happen to me. Then it happened. I was sitting in a diner and all of the sudden I felt like there was something inside of me. Something that was begging to be released."

"What happened?"

"I bolted. That was my first transformation. I woke up in the woods next to a deer whose guts had been ripped out. I didn't know what exactly happened but I knew I had to leave. I packed my things and left. I've been trying to find somewhere to settle ever since, somewhere to live a normal life. Well as normal as I can be." Josh fell silent. It felt strange talking about it, but there was something about Aiden, something that made him feel comfortable, safe almost. "What about you?"

"Me? That is a long story, going back decades." Aiden didn't want to share, because he would have to admit that he chose this life, the life of a killer, a blood junkie.

"How long ago did it happen?"

"It was during the revolution. I was fighting and came across a pack of vampire looting soldiers of their possessions and blood. I was offered a choice, death or a new life." Aiden stopped, he had said to much.

"You mean you chose this life?" Josh stared at Aiden. "Why?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you. Maybe I thought living forever would be worth it."

"Is it?"

"No." Aiden was being honest, for the first time. He could still remember the way Bishop smiled at him, blood dripping from his teeth. Yet, it wasn't the fear that made him choose this life. It was the promise of eternity, but he never realized that eternity could be so lonely, especially when you want to kill all of your friends.

"I'm sorry." Josh didn't know what else to say. He suddenly felt as though he needed to give Aiden a hug, but realized that would seem incredibly strange and probably give the wrong signals. "So, what do we do now?"

Aiden pondered for a moment, what a strange question. He had never had to think about that before, mostly because he had always had Bishop there to guide him through each step. Teaching him to control it when he needed to, when and where it was safe to feed.

"I guess we keep on surviving." Aiden turned to look at Josh, whose fear had faded into a stoic mask, his emotions hidden beneath the surface. "But at least we aren't alone, I mean, sorry. That sounded strange, I was just saying that-"

"No, we aren't alone. I like that; maybe we could help each other."

Josh smiled at Aiden, and Aiden reached out and gave Josh's hand a quick squeeze, but pulled back quickly because although it felt right he was sure that Josh probably thought he was the strangest person. And even though they had just met Aiden felt like they were going to be good friends, mostly because Josh made him feel like he wasn't so alone.

"So, what do you do?" Aiden and Josh had met up at the bar again and had almost immediately found each other.

"Well I was training to be a doctor, you know saving lives and all that, but I kind of left the program. Basically, I'm unemployed."

"I work at the hospital; maybe you could get a job as an orderly or something. Come in tomorrow and I'll make sure that you meet the right people."

"You don't have to do that." Josh was embarrassed. He wasn't sure why either, a job would be nice. He could stop living in the shitty one bedroom apartment he had found.

"Come on, what are friends for?" Aiden winked at him.

"Oh, we are friends?" Josh glanced at Aiden to see a hurt look on his face. "I mean, that's great, we should be friends, I just wasn't aware that we were calling each other friend, what I was trying to say is that, never mind. Tomorrow at the hospital, I'll be there. Thanks." Josh downed the last bit of his drink. "Well I guess I am going to call it a night. See you around, friend." Josh nudged Aiden and walked away, muttering to himself what an idiot he was being. This is why he didn't have very many friends, why did he have to be so incredibly awkward all the damn time.

"So what's it like? Being a vampire?" Josh had slid into the empty seat across from Aiden in the hospital cafeteria. He had been working there for two weeks now and Aiden was still the only one he was comfortable talking to.

"What do you mean?" Aiden studying Josh, his five o'clock shadow looked more like a three day shadow and there were dark bags under his eyes. "Have you been sleeping?"

"Don't avoid the question. I mean, there are all these myths about vampires, like you can't go out in the sun or you are afraid of garlic and crosses."

"The majority of those are exactly that, myths. Although crosses or any religious symbol affects us in a weird way." Aiden's eyes flashed to Josh's Star of David, and he starting wondering why it hadn't affected him. Maybe because he knew that he wasn't a danger to Josh. There wasn't a single part of him that wanted his blood, probably because he was a werewolf, but knowing that he would never attack Josh allowed him to let his guard down a little bit more than usual.

Josh nodded his head absentmindedly, as if there was a song playing in the background with a really good beat. "Josh, have you been sleeping?"

"Huh? Me? Um, no. Not really. I have rats in my apartment, I've been picking up all sorts of extra shifts so that I can afford a new place, and the full moon is tomorrow. The dreams always get worse as it approaches."

"Where do you go, to transform?"

"The woods, I found this semi secluded spot, campers don't normally go there. So far is worked okay, although getting home sucks because I can never find my clothes." Josh laughed, but it was hollow. Couldn't he just sleep through this month, it wasn't like he was going to miss out on anything. Why did he need to go out and kill things when he transformed, why couldn't he just curl into a ball on the grass and sleep for the night. Would that be so bad, so impossible?

"Well you know, I could pick you up tomorrow, if you wanted." Josh was pulling off the wrapper of his water bottle. "Josh, are you even listening to me?"

"What did you say? Sorry, I've been completely out of it." Josh didn't look up; he just continued pulling at the label.

"I said that I could pick you up after your transformation, if you want. A familiar face might be what you need." Aiden wanted to grab Josh's hand and make him stop fidgeting.

"You would do that?" Josh raised his eyes and stared at Aiden. He wasn't used to people being so kind to him.

"Yeah, I've got the day off tomorrow, and I could bring you a change of clothes so you don't have to walk around naked." Aiden smiled; maybe he could forget the change of clothes on accident.

"That would be amazing." Josh couldn't believe it, maybe telling someone about his condition would be helpful after all. It was nice having a friend he didn't have to lie to all the time. "Well, I had better get back to work; I'll see you tomorrow then."


	2. Chapter 2

Josh woke up with a start and looked around him, what did he kill last night, a stag maybe? His breath caught in his chest when he was pale skin lying next to him. It wasn't a stag this time, it was a man.

"No, no-no-no-no-no-no-no. No. This cannot be happening. No." He scooted away from the body until he hit a tree. "Fuck." The body was covered in scratch marks and blood. He didn't recognize him, what was he doing out here in the middle of the night. What had happened? _Maybe it wasn't me._ Josh tried to convince himself, but there was blood on his hands, he was next to the body. It had been him. Not him, his condition, the monster inside of him.

He pulled his legs to his chest and just began rocking back and forth. He didn't want to cry, but his emotions were so strong right now he didn't know what else to do. In the distance he heard a twig snap. He hoped they came for him, and then someone could put him down like the sick dog that he was.

"Josh?" Aiden's voice rang out in the empty woods. _Fuck._ Maybe if Josh didn't move or say anything Aiden would just turn around and go home, but Josh also wanted Aiden close to him, because Aiden made him feel safe and human, which was not what he was at the moment. "Josh?"

The voice was getting closer. "Aiden." He whispered to the trees. Finally the familiar face turned the corner.

"Josh, what happened?" Aiden crouched down next to Josh, he wanted to give him a hug or something, but those all seemed inappropriate due to Josh's lack of clothing.

"I woke up and he-he was just lying there, next to me. I killed him, I actually killed a man." Josh broke down, the tears he had been holding back all of the sudden because rushing out. Aiden wrapped his arm around Josh and cradled his head.

"Let's get you out of here and cleaned up."

"No, I can't leave him like this." Aiden had helped Josh to his feet, but he wasn't budging another inch.

"Josh, if the police come and find you here with the body, his blood on your hands, you are going to go away for a very long time." Josh was just crying, standing there staring at the body.

"They should lock me up."

"You don't mean that." Aiden tried to pull Josh away but he didn't want to move. Aiden stepped forward and slapped Josh across the face.

"Ow! What on earth was that for?" Josh rubbed the side of his cheek.

"You need to wake up, and we need to get you out of here. You didn't kill this man, a wolf did. Now come on, I'm taking you home." Josh took one more look at the man lying on the ground, a new wave of shame and guilt coming over him.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered to the dead man before following Aiden back through the woods. He had never to his knowledge killed a man before. It was not a feeling that he wanted to have often. He looked ahead of him at Aiden's back and realized just how lucky he was to have found a friend.

Josh cried in the shower at Aiden's apartment. He had been able to hold it in until that point, when the hot water hit him. He had never taken a human life before, and maybe he didn't remember it, or it wasn't him or whatever Aiden had kept saying to him in the car. He still did it, the creature he wanted to deny, pretend didn't exist. So he cried. He cried for the man, he cried for himself, he cried for the life he was supposed to have. But nothing made it feel better.

Aiden paced in the hallway listening to the ringing of the phone. "Come on, pick up the phone." He had called the police, but he wanted to talk to Bishop. There was no way they would believe this was murder, it looked like a wolf attacked him, and technically that's what it was. But he needed Bishop to know about Josh, just in case.

"Hi, you've reached Bishop, I'm not able to answer your call" Aiden hung up the phone and walked back to the bathroom. The water had stopped running.

"Hey, you alright in there Josh?" There wasn't a response. Aiden slowly turned the door handle and peeked inside. Josh was sitting on the toilet, a towel wrapped around the lower half of his body. "I called the police, said I saw a man in the woods. They might come by and ask for a statement." Aiden knelt down in front of Josh, trying to meet his eyes.

"I tried to drown myself in the shower." Josh wished he had managed it. He didn't deserve to be alive; whatever made him think that he deserved to live a normal life. He was a monster. "Clearly I failed."

"Why would you want to drown yourself?" Aiden tried to keep his voice soft; he was used to the killing, the guilt. He knew what Josh was feeling.

"Why would I want to keep on living?" Josh's eyes turned dark. "I mean what's the point? Every month I turn into a monster, and I am a danger to everything around me. It was okay when it was just animals, but not people. If I have started killing people…I've turned a corner I never wanted to. You know after my first transformation I thought about killing myself. Just ending it once and for all. I put a gun to my head but I couldn't pull the fucking trigger. So many times I sat alone in the dark telling myself that it would all be over. I couldn't do it. I'm just a coward, afraid of living, afraid of dying, afraid of everything. Why? Why should I be afraid? I'm a monster. Monsters are the ones that cause fear, not the other way around. " Josh could feel the tears falling down his face. He could feel Aiden's arm wrap around his shoulder. He didn't care. He felt so numb, so empty inside that it didn't mean much. "I'm a monster."

"Josh, I want you to listen to me. I understand what you are feeling, the guilt and anger that is just building inside of you. It's enough to kill a man, but this moment; this isn't going to last forever. This feeling cannot own you, unless you let it." Aiden's voice sounded a million miles away. "Guilt and regret can be powerful emotions, they can control you. Don't let them. And you deserve a life, more than anyone, because someone tried to take it from you, and instead cursed you. So don't be afraid, don't hide from the world. Own it, because it's a big world out there Josh, and its waiting for you. There isn't a single thing to be afraid of, because you are the scariest thing around. A man with nothing else to lose and everything to gain."

"You are wrong you know." Josh looked up at Aiden for the first time, his eyes bloodshot from the tears. "There is one thing to fear."

"What's that?"

"Vampires." Josh started laughing, he wasn't really sure why, what he said wasn't that funny. Maybe it was from the stress or something but he laughed, and Aiden laughed. He didn't feel perfect, he wasn't sure if he was even feeling at all, but he was laughing, and that was a good sign. "Thank you, by the way. For everything."

"Not a problem, what would you like to do now? Are you hungry, tired, want to watch a movie?"

"I'm actually pretty exhausted." Josh was usually exhausted if he was being honest. He was constantly tired because of work, or the nightmares, or the rats.

"Well you can sleep in my bed if you want. No sense in you going home just now. Now while you are in such emotional shock. Come on." Aiden pulled Josh up and lead him to his bedroom. "Your clothes are in there as well. If you need anything just let me know okay." Aiden nodded and backed out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him. Josh waited until he was alone and collapsed onto the mattress. He was asleep before he could get under the covers.


	3. Chapter 3

"So you still feed on humans?" Josh stared at Aiden, his face scrunched in a disapproving look. "I'm not judging but, being friends with a murderer is kind of a weird thing to just accept."

Aiden just stared at Josh. This was the first time he had asked about Aiden's _condition_, in the three months they had been friends. Maybe he had been working the courage up to ask him about it.

"Uh, yeah, I mean, I need blood to live, can't just quit." Josh's face got even more scrunched, if that was possible. "Hey man, it's not like I enjoy it. I didn't sign up for this life because I thought, 'Hey killing people sounds fun, maybe I'll choose that as my life's pursuit.'"

"Why did you sign up?"

"It's complicated. I made a choice, and I would make it again in a heartbeat, but it was a long time ago." Josh figured that meant the topic was dropped.

"Well how do I know that you won't feed on me?" Josh figured it was a good question to ask. 3 months of friendship would certainly go down the drain if Aiden suddenly decided that Josh's blood would make a good dinner. "I mean, I'm just asking because, I want to be prepared when that day comes."

Aiden laughed, he didn't mean to, but the idea of feeding on Josh was absurd. "No offense dude, but you are not my type."

"Oh you only feed on women." Josh didn't ask, he just figured. Maybe vampires had a specific type, how was he supposed to know.

"No, I only feed on humans. Like, not werewolf-y ones. Your blood in my body would just be a mistake." Josh smiled.

"Oh, so I'm not good enough for you. Goodness Aiden, I'm slightly offended." Josh nudged Aiden and laughed. "Have you ever thought-" Josh let his words fall off at the end.

"Have I ever thought that what? Come on Josh, spit it out." Aiden was slightly worried, although Josh often shut his mouth at the right moments and opened it at the wrong ones.

"Have you ever thought about quitting? Not killing, I don't know, finding an alternative." Josh looked up at Aiden, he looked as though he thought the question he just asked was incredibly inappropriate.

"I've thought about it. Never tried it though, there is something about drinking live; I don't know how to describe it. There is almost a high, its food and a drug at the same time." Aiden stopped talking, suddenly he felt hot under his collar.

"So it's possible to live on something else like blood from the bank at the hospital." Aiden was confused, why had Josh suddenly taken an interest in his drinking habits. "Sorry, I should just shut up shouldn't I. Look Aiden, as long as you aren't drinking my blood…I'm just going to shut up now."

Aiden stared at his hands. Why had he never thought of that? Was there something about killing that gave him a rush, would it be that hard to stop? The blood in the bank would work just as well. He didn't really need to kill, but there was something about the look of horror on his victim's faces when they realize what they are. It was so much easier for him to be a monster, so much easier than trying too hard to be something he wasn't.

"Josh, it's alright. You make some valid points."

"No, look, it's not my place. I mean you have been so great with my transformations these past few months and I just hop right in and attack your life. That isn't fair to you."

Aiden reached over as Josh stuttered out about a million apologies and grabbed his hand. "Josh." He stopped speaking and looked at Aiden. "Stop worrying, alright. Stop apologizing. Just stop. You stress out so easily."

Josh just smiled down at their hands. Aiden's hand lingered just a bit too long and he awkwardly pulled it away and Josh cleared his throat. "Well, um, I should get going. My rats get lonely when I'm not home before 1 am."

"Yeah, that's, uh good. Well I'll see you tomorrow I guess." Aiden and Josh stood up and Aiden walked him towards the door. Aiden when for a hug when Josh went for a handshake, the awkward moment had been extended. Josh finally just patted Aiden on the back and bounded out the door. Aiden watched him go and closed the door. "200 years and I'm still an idiot."


	4. Chapter 4

"Thanks for coming." Josh glanced over at Aiden as they trekked to the secluded part of the woods so that Josh could transform. "After last time I don't feel like I should do this alone."

"It isn't a problem, just you know; try not to bit my head off or anything." Aiden laughed but Josh looked terrified. "Josh, relax, please." He gave Josh a quick squeeze on the shoulders. "It's going to be perfectly fine. I will be up in a tree making sure you stay out of trouble."

Josh tried to try to give him a smile but he was sure it came out as a grimace.

They came upon a small clearing. "Here is good." Josh dropped his bag and Aiden looked around for a good tree to climb.

"So, does it hurt? The uh, transformation?" He asked as he tested the sturdiness of a branch.

"No, not at all, in fact it's like as wonderful as getting a massage then collapsing into a Jacuzzi. Of course it hurts!"

"Alright, alright, sorry I asked. Just trying to you know, make small talk." Aiden had found the perfect spot and stretched himself out over the tree.

"How much time?" Josh felt weird about not feeling weird. Here he was, standing in the woods taking his clothes off in front of Aiden, about to transform into a werewolf and normally he would be freaking out, but for some reason he was calm and okay with it. And that was the weirdest thing yet.

"Three minutes." Aiden checked his watch and then looked down at Josh who was facing the other way, his body literally glowing in the moonlight. "Oh hey Josh's ass. Aren't you a cute little thing?"

"Aiden-" Josh turned his head to look at his friend. "Did you just call my ass cute?"

"Maybe." Aiden laughed, he didn't know why he had done it, probably to lighten the mood. "I mean it is a very cute buttock."

"Let me die." Josh muttered under his breath but let out a chuckle. Then he screamed. The sound scared Aiden because it wasn't a scream he had ever heard before. It was full of so much pain and anger. "Aiden you stay-"Josh couldn't finish the sentence because he was screaming again.

"I'll stay in the tree. I promise." He may have promised but he wanted nothing more than to get out of the tree and just sooth away the pain. He couldn't look as Josh hunched over, his screams growing louder and more terrible. Then they stopped. "Josh?" Aiden glanced into the clearing.

Standing in the middle wasn't Josh, but a werewolf, smelling the air. It finally must have caught his scent because it turned to look at him, in the tree. Aiden was not used to the feeling that was coursing through his veins. It was fear, but he wasn't quite sure what he was scared of.

Josh woke up on the cold ground. He frantically stood up and started searching around him.

"Relax." Aiden's voice came from behind and he felt his hand on his shoulder. "You didn't kill anyone last night, well I think you did catch a squirrel, but who will miss it." Josh spun around and pulled Aiden into a hug.

"Oh thank god." Josh was so happy to hear the news that no one had died by his hand that he had completely forgotten the fact that he was naked. "Shit." He pulled away, covering himself up. Aiden laughed and threw him some clothes.

"Get dressed and we will go get some breakfast."

Aiden watched Josh eat breakfast, he could never look at him the same after last night. He could still hear his screams echoing in his head. It wasn't a feeling that he liked. After every single person he had killed, all the screams he had heard in his life, he was 100% sure that Josh's would be the one to stay with him forever. It was something so full of emotion, and emotion that he didn't understand. "You know Josh, I've been thinking."

Josh had just stuffed a fork full of eggs into him mouth. "Ab't w'at?"

"Well, I had been thinking about what you said the other day, about me going off live blood." Aiden spun the ketchup bottle in front of him around in his hands. "It is possible to live off of the blood bank, I wouldn't have to kill anymore."

"Are you serious about this?" Josh was trying not to sound as excited as he was. He didn't know why but he felt extremely proud, not only of himself for helping Aiden see another option but also of Aiden for choosing to take this step.

"I think so. But I would need your help, because I wouldn't be strong enough for it on my own." Aiden studied Josh's face, he could see the failed attempts to hide his excitement. He felt a surge of gratitude for Josh at that moment. No one had ever wanted to help him control it, just make it worse. '_Feed Aiden its good for you, no don't worry about the people, you are a shark, a killer. Own it._' He could hear Bishop's voice echoing in his head. He hated it so much some times, he hated Bishop most of the time. Josh was different, like him in that he was trying to deal with a condition that made him something that he was not, but Josh had somehow made Aiden think that they could be better. They could beat this and be human. Or at least something close to human, instead of monsters that hide in the dark.

"Yeah, of course, I would love to help. Aiden, you can do this. We can do this." Josh finally let himself smile, grin from ear to ear. Aiden couldn't help himself, a smile spread across his face as well. There they sat, a vampire and werewolf, completely at peace with the world and each other, smiling at the possibilities of a better tomorrow.


End file.
